Long reads

Winner: DGP Logistics DGP Logistics employs just over 100 people, representing 22 nationalities and 20 different ethnic groups. In 2018, it set out to improve its gender diversity, aiming to increase female representation by 50 per cent within three years, but actually achieved a 77 per cent improvement in two.…

Winner: Sabre Jetting Services Hydro-demolition specialist Sabre Jetting Services says its commitment to learning and development is not limited to legal requirements and technical training, but also encompasses “soft skills, leadership and mental health awareness”. “Sabre has gone beyond all expectations. It has developed a training and development programme for…

Winner: OFR Consultants Focused on fire safety, OFR Consultants has grown strongly since its inception in 2016. The employee-owned business now lists 84 on its roster, and has delivered work for NHS Nightingale hospitals, Google, the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and the Antarctic Research Centre, among others. “The firm…

Winner: Galliford Try Infrastructure - Highways – A46 Anstey Lane widening The A46 Anstey Lane project saw no accidents or safety incidents of any kind across 93,000 hours worked. Contractor Galliford Try also said it scored highly in client satisfaction, with Midlands Highways Alliance (MHA) awarding an overall survey score…

Winner: Fortel Group Fortel Group took a determined approach to the health and safety challenges of COVID-19, very rapidly assembling a toolkit of help and advice on its website in the early days of the pandemic. “The toolkit enabled us to share constantly updated critical information to our dispersed workforce,”…

Winner: TopHat – Low Carbon Homes TopHat said its White Road project for Medway Council represented a showcase of what can be delivered using offsite construction, with the project’s 20 homes accounting for less embodied carbon than one traditionally built home. Once occupied, each of the houses should deliver a…

Winner: Byrne Bros Byrne Bros has developed a strategy to reduce its emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 with an holistic approach aiming to avoid adopting low-carbon solutions that cause other types of harm. “Byrne Bros has implemented a range of carbon-reduction initiatives and demonstrated good outcomes” Judges’ comment…

Winner: Jason Kairouz, Balfour Beatty Jason Kairouz has risen to the role of project engineer at Balfour Beatty, having joined the contractor’s graduate scheme in 2018. The company said “he has shown excellent leadership and great passion” for his role. Kairouz has worked with schools to promote and inspire the…

Winner: Tilbury Douglas Construction Five days into the first UK lockdown, Tilbury Douglas was selected to build the Birmingham NHS Nightingale Hospital. The work was confirmed on Saturday 27 March, and by Monday the contractor and its partners were mobilised on site. “Tilbury Douglas went beyond official guidance to try…

As the future use of frameworks is being reviewed, Greg Pitcher examines whether current policies are fit for purpose